Breastfeeding Protection: Code Watch

hanks
to Kathy Dupuis and the South Okanagan Similkameen Health Board
in BC for putting out the alert on the links between Nestlé
Carnation and the Overwaitea Food Group. Notes Ms. Dupuis, "[The]
one year contract...includes not only a gift basket which includes
free formula for all new mothers in the community but also a
mailing (coupons etc) to mothers at babies ages 3, 6, 9 months
and 1 year."

Cathy Richards, community nutritionists with the South Okanagan
Community Health and Chair of the Central Okanagan Breastfeeding
Support Committee, in a letter to Brian Pick, CEO of Overwaitea,
writes, "you can stop their manipulation of your company,
and help enhance our community's health, quickly and easily simply
by removing the formula samples and coupons from the gift packs...
and by not sharing your customers' names and addresses with formula
companies and their distributers."

Our note: So can Health Canada by implementing the International
Code they endorsed!

Ross still pumping out "offending"
ads

ast
October Justice Lloyd Brennan of the Ontario Court of Justice,
ordered Ross Pediatrics to restrain from any broadcasting, publishing,
distribution or dissemination in any way representations regarding
its Similac Advance products, and to retrieve all materials which
contain any of the offending representations.

INFACT Canada's Code Monitor, Liana Moore reports that Ross
has been flaunting the court order. At the Oakville, ON Toys
R Us she found a video display with voice over marketing the
overblown product:

"...if you choose not to breastfeed, you'll want to give
your baby formula that is close to breastmilk.

"Introducing the new Similac Advance, a new era of
Similac closer than it has ever been to breastmilk....

"...introduces Similac Advanced, a new era of Similac,
closer than it has ever been to breastmilk."

Judge Brennan was as baffled by the lack of Health Canada
in regulating the artificial feeding industry as we are at INFACT
Canada. He stated: "Apparently Health Canada plays a role
in regulating these parties and their competitors, but that role
was not explained to me in these materials. No evidence was provided
and no submissions made concerning the powers and processes of
that government authority. I am unable therefore to determine
whether a remedy is available for the alleged wrong, outside
the scope of this jurisdiction."

Our note. Wouldn't it be alot easier to have the International
Code in place as a regulatory measure?

"Bottle Mouth"

isinformation
about the bacteriostatic capacities of breastmilk is still pervasive.
A recent client education card from the Ontario Dental Association,
entitled "Nursing Caries", reads, "Breast-fed
babies are also suseptable if they constantly fall asleep with
breastmilk on their teeth." Thanks to C. Featherby for setting
the ODA straight. "Referring to bottle mouth as nursing
caries, implies that a breastfed child is at the same risk as
an artificially fed child is from the contents of a bottle. The
bacterial impact of any breastmilk left in the mouth is more
than offset by the natural antibiotic action of breastmilk..."
she writes.

Cost of formula leads to theft

hree
young men in Ottawa were recently apprehended for stealing infant
formula. Maureen Kennedy, a lactation consultant wrote in response
to the article appearing in The Citizen (May 11, 1997). "Infant
formula is expensive (calculated to cost anywhere from $1,500
to 2,500 per year). One of the reasons that formula is so expensive
is that companies that manufacture infant formulas provide free
formulas and large sums of money to many hospitals.

"Breast feeding on the other hand imposes no financial
burden on parents."

Dream of a Lifetime?

urse
Manager Sandra Mackenzie and Public Health nurse, Marg LaSalle
of the Middlesex-London District Health Unit were appalled to
see a fundraising advertisement for the Dream of a Lifetime campaign
sponsored by London's chronic care hospital foundation in their
local newspaper featuring a bottle feeding baby. In a letter
to the London Free Press, May 17, 1997, they take the foundation
to task: "The implicit endorsement of formula feeding by
trusted health professionals is inappropriate. At the least,
it sends a mixed message to the public. At worst, it undermines
breastfeeding mothers and their babies. The winner in this instance
was certainly the infant-formula industry".

First Foto coming to a hospital
near you

new, improved creative way to get artificial feeding products
to new mothers! Here's First Foto's proposal to hospitals:

At first Foto, when we look to the future, we see a world
of fresh and exciting ways in which to help [editor's note....fleece
shurely!] new Mothers.

First Foto and hospitals like yours have worked together
to serve the needs of new Mothers.

As we look to the future, we see a new kind of First Foto,
a company that is focussed on meeting the needs of new Moms [ad
nauseum....]

We will provide the products and services which our extensive
research of new Moms indicates they want.

Tests are currently underway to determine the most efficient
and effective way to reach new Moms prenatally

By partnering with select companies, [editor's note
- infant formula companies shurely!] First Fote will develop
specialized offers and discounts to meet the needs that Moms
have identified.

To make the Helping New Moms vision a reality we need your
[ed ... local hospital] help with three key strategies:

Serve moms best by taking orders in hospitalAll babies
need to be photographed
All Moms need to be identified

Helping New Moms is a win-win philosophy for Moms, Hospitals
and First Foto

Should our publicly funded health care system be used this
way to exploit new mothers and lure them into nutritionally inferior
infant feeding practices? Surely not!

Let your local hospital administrator and chair of the Board
of Directors know that you do not want First Foto to exploit
and promote artificial feeding to new mothers in your community.

Fools Gold: Recommendation
- Strong Buy

rom
the Hambricht & Quist Spot Report on pharmaceuticals comes
a recommendation for Martek Biosciences as a strong buy. Why?
You guessed it. The company's lead product is something called
Formulaid, a blend of fatty acids, DHA and ARA that are present
in human milk but lacking in infant formulas. The stock promotion
reads:

"Infant formula is currently a commodity market, with
all products being almost identical and marketers competing intensely
to differentiate their product. Even if Formulaid had no benefit,
we think that it would be widely incorporated into most formulas,
as a marketing tool and to allow companies to promote their formula
as 'closest to human milk'" [our emphasis]

"The company's marketing partners to date represent almost
40% of the $5 billion world infant formula market. The list includes
Nutricia, Bristol-Myers Squibb, American Home Products, Sandoz,
Maabarot and an undisclosed partner."

At least the Bre-X fools gold didn't kill babies.

NOTE: Canada is involved in the setting of standards for food
commodities through the Codex Alimentarius process. This includes
standards for labelling of infant formulas and complementary
foods. To make sure that the above types of claims about infant
feeding products not be permitted, please write to our new minister
responsible for Health Canada, Allan Rock. Let him know that
health claims, nutrient function claims and nutrient content
claims should not be permitted on the labels or accompanying
literature for infant formulas and complementary foods.